Comparison of Wind-tunnel and Water-channel Simulations of Plume Dispersion through a Large Array of Obstacles with a Scaled Field Experiment

We report on measurements of the near-field dispersion of contaminant plumes in a large array of building-like obstacles at three scales; namely, at full-scale in a field experiment, at 1:50 scale in a wind-tunnel simulation, and at 1:205 scale in a water-channel simulation. Plume concentration statistics extracted from the physical modelling in the wind-tunnel and water-channel simulations are compared to those obtained from a field experiment. The modification of the detailed structure of the plume as it interacts with the obstacles is investigated. To this purpose, measurements of the evolution of the mean concentration, concentration fluctuation intensity, concentration probability density function, and integral time scale of concentration fluctuations in the array plume obtained from the field experiment and the scaled wind-tunnel and water-channel experiments are reported and compared, as well as measurements of upwind and within-array velocity spectra. Generally, the wind-tunnel and water-channel results on the modification of the detailed plume structure by the obstacles were qualitatively similar to those observed in the field experiments. However, with the appropriate scaling, the water-channel simulations were able to reproduce quantitatively the results of the full-scale field experiments better than the wind-tunnel simulations.     

Stasis and Change in Forty Years of Southeast Asian Agriculture

Agricultural change in Southeast Asia over the last three decades is reviewed within the context of structural change of the region's economies. An agricultural typology is outlined and the degree to which agricultural systems have remained static is examined leading to the identification of various kinds and degrees of change amongst the systems – extensification, intensification and disintensification. The paper concludes that while macro-level structural change is the basic process driving changes in agriculture, there remain important issues of long-term sustainability, poverty and distribution of benefits.     

Penetrative convection induced by the absorption of radiation with a nonlinear internal heat source

A model for convection induced by the selective absorption of radiation in a fluid layer is investigated. The concentration based internal heat source is modelled quadratically. A linear analysis and conditional nonlinear analysis are performed. Due to the presence of significantly large regions of potential subcritical instabilities, the results indicate that linear theory may only be accurate enough to predict the onset of convective motion when the model for the internal heat source is predominantly linear. This lends much credence to the use of a linearly modelled internal heat source as used by Krishnamurti [Dyn. Atmos. Oceans 27 (1997) 367], within the constraints of the parameter ranges.     

Agricultural Value of ENSO Information under Alternative Phase Definition

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effect has been found to be associated with regional climate variations in many regions of the world, and, in turn, with variation in crop yields. Previous studies have found that early releases of ENSO phase information could permit agricultural producers to make adjustments in their decisions and in turn generate an increase in agricultural sector welfare. This study examines whether the value of the agricultural responses can be enhanced by releasing more detailed ENSO information. Namely we evaluate the implications for projected agricultural welfare under release and adaptation to the Stone and Auliciems five phase definition of ENSO states as opposed to the more standard three phase definition. This value is estimated using a stochastic, U.S./global agricultural model representing 22 climate years. The results indicate that the release and exploitation of the more detailed ENSO phase definition almost doubles the welfare impact. The results also indicate that there is room for up to another doubling of information value through further refinements.     

Earthquake swarms and local crustal spreading along major strike-slip faults in California

Earthquake swarms in California are often localized to areas within dextral offsets in the linear trend in active fault strands, suggesting a relation between earthquake swarms and local crustal spreading. Local crustal spereading is required by the geometry of dextral offsets when, as in the San Andreas system, faults have dominantly strike-slip motion with right-lateral displacement. Three clear examples of this relation occur in the Imperial Valley, Coso Hot Springs, and the Danville region, all in California. The first two of these areas are known for their Holocene volcanism and geothermal potential, which is consistent with crustal spreading and magmatic intrusion. The third example, however, shows no evidence for volcanism or geothermal activity at the surface.     

Coupled Sr-O isotope variations as an indicator of source heterogeneity for the Northern peninsular ranges batholith

Primary ¹⁸O values for tonalitic rocks from the San Jacinto Intrusive Complex range from +9.0 to +10.6; initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr for the same samples varies from 0.7058 to 0.7076. Rocks with low ¹⁸O tend to have higher initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. The majority of samples have a limited range of ¹⁸O values (+10.0–+10.4) that is anticorrelated with colour index; this variation is compatible with crystallization of rocks with varying mineral abundances from an homogeneous (for oxygen) reservoir. More mafic rocks show a large range of ¹⁸O values, reflecting original variations in source material compositions. The combined Sr-O isotope data demonstrate that three or more distinct components were involved in the genesis of these rocks; these three components are also seen in batholithic rocks from the Mojave Block and Sierra Nevada to the north. These data are interpreted as indicating a 0–35% (oxygen atom basis) contribution to the San Jacinto rocks from an old continental lithosphere source.Division Contribution No. 4064     

The thermal expansion of ScAlO3 — A silicate perovskite analogue

The crystal structure of ScAlO₃ has been refined at temperatures up to 1100° C on the basis of x-ray powder diffraction data. The thermal expansion is adequately described by a Grüneisen-Debye model with the elastic Debye temperature and an effective Grüneisen parameter of 1.6. The volumetric thermal expansion of 3.0% between 10 and 1100° C, corresponding to a mean thermal expansion coefficient of 2.7 × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹, is entirely attributable to the expansion of the AlO₆ octahedra. The interoctahedral angles, though not fixed by symmetry, do not vary significantly with temperature —indicating that the expansivities of the constituent AlO₆ and distorted ScO₈ polyhedra are well matched. Similar considerations of polyhedral expansivity suggest thermal expansion coefficients of ∼2 × 10⁻⁵K⁻¹ for cubic CaSiO₃ perovskite and a value between 2 × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ and 4 × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ for MgSiO₃ perovskite. The lower value is consistent with the reconnaissance measurements for Mg_0.9Fe_0.1SiO₃ (Knittle et al. 1986) below 350° C, with low-temperature measurements of single-crystal MgSiO₃ (Ross and Hazen 1989), and with the results of some recent calculations. The markedly greater expansivity ∼4 × 10⁻⁵ K⁻¹ measured at higher temperatures (350–570° C) by Knittle et al. is inconsistent with the simple Grüneisen-Debye quasiharmonic model and may reflect the marginal metastability of the orthorhombic perovskite phase. Under these circumstances, extrapolation of the measured expansivity is hazardous and may result in the under-estimation of lower mantle densities and the drawing of inappropriate inferences concerning the need for chemical stratification of the Earth's mantle.     

Alkalic to transitional ferrogabbro magma associated with paleohelikian anorthositic plutons in the Flowers River area,southeastern Nain igneous complex,Labrador

Fine grained gabbroic chilled margins and crosscutting dikes are associated in space and time with three ca. 1400 Ma anorthositic plutons in the Flowers River area, southeastern Nain igneous complex. Both the anorthositic and gabbroic rocks have distinctive compositions compared to rocks of similar age and lithology elsewhere in northcentral Labrador. The anorthositic rocks contain olivine and augite rather than orthopyroxene, and Fe-Ti oxides, apatite and orthoclase are unusually abundant. Cumulus plagioclase is abnormally enriched in incompatible elements. Most of the gabbroic rocks are uniform in composition, although the effects of contamination and fractionation are evident in some places. They define a transitional to alkalic ferrogabbro magma that is strongly enriched in K, P and incompatible trace elements. The chemical characteristics of the ferrogabbro magma imply derivation from enriched mantle or involvement of a significant crustal component. A parent-daughter relationship between the ferrogabbro magma and anorthositic rocks is suggested by their compositional similarities and the fact that the gabbroic chilled margins and plagioclase-rich pluton interiors appear to be completely gradational in composition and texture.Geological Survey of Canada Contribution No. 54686.     

A cometary ionosphere model for Io

The ionosphere of Jupiter's satellite Io, discovered by the Pioneer 10 radio-occultation experiment, cannot easily be understood in terms of a model of a gravitationally bound, Earth-like ionosphere. Io's gravitational field is so weak that a gravitationally bound ionosphere would probably be blown away by the ram force of the Jovian magnetospheric wind — i.e., the plasma corotating in the Jovian magnetosphere. We propose here a model in which the material for Io's atmosphere and ionosphere is drawn from the ionosphere of Jupiter through a Birkeland current system that is driven by the potential induced across Io by the Jovian corotation electric field. We argue that the ionization near Io is caused by a comet-like interaction between the corotating plasma and Io's atmosphere. The initial interaction employs the critical velocity phenomenon proposed many years ago by Alfvén. Further ionization is produced by the impact of Jovian trapped energetic electrons, and the ionization thus created is swept out ahead of Io in its orbit. Thus, we suggest that what has been reported as a day-night ionospheric asymmetry is in fact an upstream-downstream asymmetry caused by the Jovian magnetospheric wind.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 30th May, 1978.